Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

Velvet was walking down the hall with her twin brother, they were talking about the usual stuff such as school assignments, afterschool plans, and fashion. It wasn’t hard to get veneer to talk all she had to do was say one word and her brother was off like a rocket. That worked for her. She didn’t feel like talking at the time she was focused on a upcoming quiz that she had to pass, she knew her brother wasn’t one to care about grades like that so he didn’t have the same weight on his shoulders that she did and she was fine with that. Her brother didn’t need to feel that kind of pressure.

“Girl did you hear the news? Like everyone is talking about it!” Veneer started after he got done with his 2 minute rant about why he didn’t like a certain kind of makeup wipes. Something about skin rashes? Honestly velvet was too stressed to listen in but this, this caught her attention.

“News? What are you waiting for go ahead and spill it” now this was something she could get into, news from ven most likely meant school drama or a new pop song, even some new makeup brand going around. The perfect thing to get her mind off of the test and on whatever was floating around school now.

“So get this, there is a new girl moving to our school and todays her first day! She’s supposed to be like sups mysterious or whatever” maybe that wasn’t what she was expecting. She was expecting a fight, or a new couple, or even some teacher drama. A new student didn’t sound cool it sounded boring, it just meant another kid to run into in the halls, another kid that could be better, get higher grades then her, have better style then her, she didn’t like the sound of that at all and it seemed her face was giving that off cause suddenly veneer put a hand on her shoulder and gave her that stupid confused pitiful look he always gave her when she was upset or angry. She hated it.

“Vel hunny what’s up? Thought you would like to hear about a new student? Think about it if we can get to her first she could be our friend and that means you would get more popular! Don’t you want that?” He was right, she did want that, he was always right. She hated that too. How her brother was always right. Now she was just mad not at her brother or at the new girl just mad, she needed to take some time to calm down so without talking she sped up her pace and headed straight to her next class. Gym.

—

She arrived at class quick, she was walking quick. She didn’t tell her brother where she was going and the bell wasn’t gonna ring for a few minutes so she was pretty early. Early enough to be by herself. to be the first or so she thought, once she got there another girl stood by the entrance looking lost that made her upset. She wasn’t the first like she usually was and she was 3 minutes earlier then usual. She didn’t recognize this student was this the new girl her brother spoke about? Great. The one person she didn’t want to see or think about was right infront of her and early to HER class which she’s ALWAYS early to. This was gonna be a great day.

As she approached the new girl turned to look her way, she took time to examine her looks. Purple hair which wasn’t that long. Clearly dyed as the roots were pretty prominent. Dark brown eyes they were deep almost hard to look at. She was lanky shorter then velvet herself but not too short. If anything she looked dorky that was good. Dorks aren’t popular pretty girls were popular.

Velvet wasn’t saying she wasn’t pretty, she was average looking at most but her fashion senses weren’t exactly the prettiest and that put velvet ahead. She was fine with that. That was good.

“Uhm.. hi.” Suddenly a voice pulled her out of her thoughts, the girl was closer to her now and supposedly talking to her. Fuck she wasn’t expecting that. Did she even want to talk to this girl? It would be rude not too.. and she did have a reputation to uphold so she decided to respond.

“Hello! Did you need something?” She sounded snappy, she didn’t want to sound like that but she was caught off guard and didn’t really wanna be talking to this girl right now but it happened and now nothing can be done to change that.

“I think I am lost, I know I’m supposed to be going to gym but there’s nobody else here.. is this the right area?” She sounded sweet, velvet almost felt a bit bad for how she spoke to her but nothing she could do now. She was lost? Or not lost early. So she wasn’t trying to get here early? It was a mistake and velvet assumed she was trying to one up her. Good going vel.

“You’re in the right place you are just early don’t sweat it girl, my names velvet what’s yours?” Why did she introduce herself? She didn’t even like this girl she was just another face in the crowd. God why couldn’t she just shut up.

“My names orchid, it’s nice to meet you velvet you are like the first person I’ve talked to today it’s been so chaotic!” The girl looked nervous but happy, happy to be talking to velvet? That felt good maybe ven wasn’t too far off. Maybe making friends with her could help status. More friends less competition.

“You have such a pretty name girl! Let’s be friends okay? I could totally show you around here and get you situated” okay now that didn’t come off how she wanted, pretty name? No orchid is a unique name but saying pretty was much. And showing her around ? God this was gonna be a very long day if she can’t shut her mouth soon.

“I’d love that ! Thank you it means a lot really!” She smiled. Like actually smiled at her. What was this feeling?

—

After class she wasted no time to find her brother during lunch. She had to tell him what happened with the new girl. That whole class she was stuck to her side like a fly and she would NOT stop talking. Velvet found it funny at first then annoying painfully annoying. Why didn’t she just walk away from the girl? Was it nice to have someone to talk to other then her own brother? She was popular she had loads of friends. But no friend friends.. no one she could talk to like she could her other half and maybe that was bothering her but she didn’t need anyone else.

Not long after walking around she found her brother sitting next to his other friends, or well friend. Some boy everyone called ritz and his friends. She knew her brother had a crush on him but she didn’t say anything that wasn’t her place and she could care less who he liked.

It looked like she was sitting alone for lunch, great. Thats fine. She would talk to veneer later maybe after school. She found a table and sat down with her tray, she hated the school lunch but she didn’t feel like packing a new lunch everyday even if she knew ven would probably do it for her. She was just about to drink some of her shitty school milk when a lunch box got placed infront of her. Odd… she looked up and low and behold the new girl again. With her dorky flower lunchbox. What was this 3rd grade?

The girl gave her a excited smile and sat down opening her lunch box, a sandwich, some cookies, and a juice. It was better then the old crusty pizza they were having at the school.

“I hope you don’t mind me sitting here! I saw you were alone and well I didn’t have no where to sit either so I figured we could sit together!” She smiled again. That same smile from earlier that made velvet feel weird. Then she held out a cookie which confused velvet more.

“No it’s fine I was gonna sit somewhere else but you know, why are you handing me your food? I have my own.” Orchid gave her a confused smile back and placed it down next to velvet. Was she trying to share? Why? Why did she feel the need to share her food with velvet they just met.

“Well you weren’t really eating so I thought you didn’t like the food today? You can have the cookie I have a few more. My mom always packs wayy too much for just me anyways.” Velvet took the cookie, the girl was right she didn’t like the food and velvet wasn’t going to give up a cookie of all things but she still found it odd. Maybe this girl was just desperate for friendship. Just a nobody who really wanted a friend who was velvet to turn that down.

“Thanks I guess?” The girl smiled again, how many times is she gonna look at her with that stupid smile and those dumb eyes.

She couldn’t blame the girl for wanting friends, and as she looked over to her brother she saw that same smile with ritz. That same stupid smile with the same dumb eyes. Maybe having a friend wouldn’t be too bad. She smiled back for the first time. She smiled back.

Chapter Text

Veneer got home later then usual. He could lie and say he was doing after school work but that wasn’t like him, he couldn’t lie not to his sister of all people. So when he stepped through that front door expecting to see velvet there demanding answers on why he hadn’t came home with her and seeing no one that worried him.

he figured she may be in the shower or doing her makeup. Anything to explain why his beloved sister wasn’t waiting for him. Anything to explain why she wasn’t yelling or throwing a fit that he “abandoned” her at the bus stop. But he didn’t hear no running water and the whole house seemed eerily empty.

It took 45 more minutes for her to walk into the front door. 45 minutes 23 messages and 12 missed calls for her to come home. Veneer was worried sick that his sister had been kidnapped or lost or worse! But when she walked in she wasn’t hurt, she wasn’t sad or angry she looked.. happy? Calm? He hadn’t seen her be this laid back in awhile well, every now and then when she would really be in a good mood usual after a long shower or on certain days when she’d do yoga.

veneer was confused and a bit hurt she never said anything about not coming home. But he didn’t say anything either so who was he to judge. They locked eyes she narrowed hers a bit as she realized he was staring at her.

“What? What’s up with you?” She cocked her hip to the side looking judgingly to her brother. What was wrong with him? Shouldn’t it be the other way around.

“Me? Girl where have you been I’ve been blowing up your cell!” He was more worried then mad, he couldn’t be mad at his sister even if she was a pain in his ass sometimes. He just couldn’t.

“Just out with a friend. Why does it matter where I go I know you were out with ritz all afternoon anyway.” That was true, he did go home with ritz and he didn’t even think to tell her a single thing about it so she had the right to do the same. The “angry” expression on his face disappeared to a more embarrassed expression as he realized he was being a total fart for nothing.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sis I just got distracted, who’s the new friend you’ve been with? I thought you stayed away from all that hang out stuff?”

“Just someone from school it’s nothing just a one time thing.” The way she said it seemed tense, like she didn’t want to answer or she would get in trouble. And veneer could tell that look. The light pink in her cheeks, the way she seemed so happy when she first went through the door.

“ohh I get it! it’s a crush isn’t it!” Her face instantly turned red but then just as instantly she looked pissed. Really fucking pissed. Maybe veneer misread the situation but even so why should she get mad over a crush of all things? It just didn’t make sense.

“It’s not like that! That’s fucking gross why can’t you just keep out of it for once!” She instantly went to her room and slammed the door. Veneer shouldn’t have said that. He fucked up and he now needed to find a way to apologize to his sister. Good going on his end,maybe after she calmed down some.

—

Velvet closed the door way harder then she intended. but she was livid why would veneer just assume it was a crush. It wasn’t! Not that it mattered to him anyway but it wasn’t a crush. The new girl begged her to join her at the library after school cause she needed to study and velvet would of said no but with that upcoming test she needed to study too, so why not? It wasn’t like her brother was waiting for her at home anyway she saw him run off with ritz after the last bell and she knew he would probably go to his “super cool” place for awhile. Not like it was any cooler then their place.

They went to the library and studied. That was all they did. Sure they talked occasionally who just studies in silence anyway? Sure they cracked jokes and velvet enjoyed the company but they just studied and it wasn’t a stupid crush. Especially not on someone she just met. And ESPECIALLY not on a girl.

Veneer was gay, velvet knew this, she had always known this. It was clear as day when they were younger. Sharing makeup, clothes, and dolls wasn’t really a straight thing to do and so she just excepted it because she knew that was who her brother was. He was gay. She was not. She liked boys and she has liked boys since the beginning so to even think she would like a girl like that would be wrong.

“Ughh! Stupid veneer always thinking he knows better.” She buried her face into her pillow to scream, she was tired of her brother assuming he knew so much about her. Maybe she overreacted a bit afterall she didn’t say who she was hanging out with perhaps he thought it was a boy? Even so he had no right to come around talking about crushes! Not when kid ritz was around.

After she was done with her not so little outburst she took a deep breath and swiped through her phone. Nothing new. She sighed and sat up kicking her shoes off she had meant to do that earlier but her brother just had to interrupt her.

What was she thinking? She loved her brother he was her everything her other half, she could not live without him no matter how hard she tried. She needed to apologize.

—

It looked like they both had very similar ideas because right as velvet went to open her bedroom door she ran into her brother who was holding a plate of heart shaped strawberries. Cute. Or it would be cute if he didn’t drop them the moment they bumped into eachother leaving a mess of cut up fruit all over their very clean carpets.

He instantly got down and started to pick them up and she almost felt bad for him, well almost because it was so funny that she couldn’t help but double over laughing at the sight of him panicking to pick up a bunch of strawberries and getting sticky red juice all over himself in the process.

After he was done he just held out the now ruined plate of strawberries as juice stained his hands and sleeves. The look on his face was pitiful at most and she just took the disgusting plate from him and gave him a sad smile.

“I’m sorry about earlier I didn’t mean to make you snap like that, I was just so worried about you not being here and when I heard you were with someone I got the wrong idea!” He stumbled with his words running one filthy hand through his hair subconsciously.. which made the mess so much worse and she was fighting everything in her not to laugh in his face.. again.

“I apologize too you know? I didn’t mean to overreact todays just been all wacky. now I would give you a loving sibling make up hug but your like totally gross. Go take a shower.” She smiled at him and he smiled back before turning around and heading to the bathroom not wasting a single second.

The moment he left she burst out laughing again she couldn’t really help it, and after all that she looked down at the plate of strawberries a warm feeling in her chest as the cute little hearts reminded her of something that she couldn’t place. She took the plate to the trash and discarded the ruined apology gift and put the dirty dish in the sink to be washed by veneer later.

For now she would make some popcorn for them and after her brother was all cleaned up they’d watch a movie together and everything would be back to normal.

Chapter Text

The next day at school was the same, her and veneer walked down the same hall having the same conversation but this time Ritz was with them. Not that velvet had anything against Ritz in any real way but she didn’t like how her brother's focus was entirely on him. That was her brother not his.

She took in a deep breath controlling her emotions before deciding it would be best to just go to her class. She knew she would see Orchid there again, she was honestly expecting it. All the stuff from yesterday may have messed with her head a bit but she was sure that her brother just got it all wrong. Does she like girls? No. And definitely not a girl like Orchid at least. She was unbearable.

Then why was she hanging around her?

For Orchids sake of course, that poor girl was so lonely velvet simply took it upon herself to help that sorry loser out by becoming her “friend” of sorts. There is no other real reason that she could explain her sticking around if not for pity. Pretty girls didn’t hang out with dorks that was rule one in being popular.

Once she finally made it to class she was met by Orchid again, she wasn’t as early as last time but she was still much earlier than velvet and part of it still ticked her off deep down. But she couldn’t get angry, not now. Not when they were now “friends” of some caliber.

“Hey Velvet! How was your day today?” Orchid started up the moment she saw velvet, she didn’t waste a single second to start talking and that was another thing velvet thought was annoying. The way she would speak non-stop to velvet but she was almost silent to everyone else. Couldn’t she have picked someone else to bother?

“It was wonderful like always, because it’s me of course!” She was lying, it wasn’t wonderful, it was boring and quiet because she had to spend her whole morning with her brother and his little crush. But why would she let Orchid know that. She didn’t need to know that Velvet was having a shitty day.

“That’s great! So thanks to your help with studying yesterday I totally got an A on my assignment! Thank you so much for all the help vellie!” Vellie? She made up a stupid nickname for her already. It wasn’t even a cute one! Vellie. What was she? An 80 year old grandma? .

But something deep down liked that, she liked the fact she had a nickname for her, she liked the way it sounded coming out of Orchids mouth.

What was she even saying? No. It wasn’t like that. She wouldn’t let her brother's stupid thoughts get into her head. She had to get away from these stupid allegations.

“Yeah whatever it wasn’t that hard anyway you're just dumb.” She had to distance herself from Orchid. They barely met yesterday and she was already ruining her reputation! She got so far she was not gonna let this stupid dork ruin it for her!

But instead of getting sad or angry at velvet for the insult she just laughed, a simple soft laugh. and her smile was so bright, like she’d never heard anything more entertaining before.

And in that moment velvet was stuck staring into this girl's eyes, watching her laughter. She couldn’t move or look away. Something was keeping her there staring at the person in front of her like they were the only two people in the world. And as the laughter died down it was just the two of them, looking in each other's eyes, and nothing else mattered. The feeling in her chest, the way Orchids eyes twinkled when she talked, the sound of her laughter filtering through the empty halls-

RINGGGGGGG

The bell went off.

Of course it did.

What was she even thinking anyway? She looked away from Orchid as the other students started to show up and for a moment she could have sworn Orchid looked sad.

—

Lunch started up the same time as always though this time Veneer wasn’t with Ritz meaning she could actually talk to him. She got her tray and sat next to her brother. He smiled at her but didn’t say anything as he was in the middle of chewing his food. ( which looked so old it seemed inedible. ) So she started up for him telling him about the incident at the gym.

“If you don’t like this girl, why are you sticking around? It sounds like maybe you should let her down easy” always Ven with the simple ways out. She couldn’t just let the girl down, she didn’t have any other friends and velvet wasn’t that much of a monster.

“She would be like, super lonely! and it’d be so sad. I’m basically trapped here by my ankles!” She crossed her arms annoyed that veneer doesn’t understand the situation. He’s supposed to be her twin, her other half, they are supposed to think the same so she figured he would get her better but he doesn’t.

“Are you sure that’s the case girl? Or do you actually like having her as a friend? You know it’s okay to have an actual friend, it'd be kinda lonely if you didn’t have one by now” what was he saying? She had loads of friends! She just didn’t hang around them because she didn’t have time for it, she was a busy girl and she didn’t have time to sit around and act nice with others if she wasn’t getting anything out of it.

“I’m friends with literally everyone! They all love me around here. What makes you think I’d willingly stay around with this crazy dyke just for friendship? She's obsessed with me!”

“Woah woah you didn’t say she was gay? Is this because you think she likes you or something?? You can’t just go around saying that kind of stuff vel.” He was right. Again. Maybe she did go a bit far with the name calling and she wasn’t even sure if Orchid liked girls. But after yesterday with her brother assuming they were something more than friends she had been acting so weird.

“I don’t know if she’s actually gay. But it’s like she won’t leave me alone and I’ve just been so stressed! I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It sounds like you need to talk to a teacher or counselor about this hunny. You know I’ve been talking to Mr Floyd and he isn’t that bad? Maybe you should try talking about this with him. I’m worried about you vel.” Was he serious? She didn’t need a counselor. nothing was wrong with her? She wasn’t the one obsessed over someone! She wasn’t the one who needed help! She was normal. What couldn’t he get from this?

How could her own twin tell her she needed counseling? She didn’t need anyone else to talk to, she just needed veneer to help her with this and he didn’t! He made this worse!!

She scoffed at him and stood up looking at him as if he just murdered a puppy before she stormed off angrily. She couldn’t believe this. She heard him call out for her in the distance but she didn’t care she stomped out of the cafeteria and didn’t look back.

What she didn’t see was Orchid following behind her to see if she was okay.

Chapter Text

Silence.

That’s what Orchid heard when she turned the corner and followed velvet down the hall to the locker rooms. She didn’t know why Velvet was upset. She didn’t hear what her brother had said to her but she watched her run off and she wanted to help.

So she followed, she followed her out the Cafeteria, down the hall, and into the locker rooms.

And once she finally made it inside after her the silence was gone and in its place was a quiet sniffling sound. Velvet was crying. She hadn’t seen that from Velvet, she never seemed like the type of person to cry so hearing it, seeing it. It was unsettling.

Orchid approached Velvet slowly. Like she was a wounded animal in need of help. Because she was scared that maybe if she did this too quickly, if she ran into action to help her she might run off. And she didn’t want that.

“go away.”

That was the first thing Velvet had said to her, which made sense because she probably heard her footsteps and it did not look like she was in the mood for company.

“Are you okay?”

It looked like her voice caught Velvet off guard because she stiffened up a bit before speaking again.

“Leave me alone.”

Her voice was cracked. It sounded so worn. So sad.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Silence again. Orchid took this as a sign and stepped forward. Velvet didn’t move.

She took a seat next to Velvet and watched as she curled up in herself more. Her hands wrapped around her knees as she pulled them close to her chest. She looked like a little girl who had just lost her favorite stuffie.

“We don’t have to talk about it, we could just sit here if you’d like.”

More silence.

Orchid was okay with that. And so they sat, in silence, and let the minutes pass. A calm understanding over both of them like they had been here a lifetime. Like this was all they had ever known.

And suddenly Velvet spoke up again.

“What’s wrong with me?”

Absolutely nothing. That’s what Orchid thought at least. She was perfect, she got everything she wanted, she had all straight A’s, she was popular, sort of closed off, but she was funny and fun to be around.

So what was wrong with her?

“..What?” Maybe she should have said more. To get a better answer. To understand where this was coming from.

“Something is wrong with me.”

But that was all she got.

She placed a hand on Velvet's shoulder gently attempting to comfort the crying girl. She hoped maybe at least not being alone was making it easier for her to actually calm down.

“Nothing is wrong with you, I think you’re amazing”

“that’s the issue.”

“I don’t understand?”

“Why do you think I’m amazing? I’ve been so rude to you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, why I’m thinking these thoughts, why I’m acting this way.”

The crying was worse now, she was sniffling and her nose was running everywhere. She wiped her eyes and looked away from Orchid trying to hide her sorrow.

But she didn’t have to hide it. There was no reason to. She was human just like every other kid at this school and it wasn’t her fault she was upset, if anything it just made her more human. More down to earth. Not like this divine being she pretends to be around others, and Orchid liked that. She liked her humanity, she liked who she really was. Not her popularity.

“It’s alright, you don’t have control on your own thoughts sometimes and that’s a normal thing. You’re normal.”

Orchid moved her hand up to Velvet's face gently and turned her head to face her, she wanted to see all of her not just who she pretended to be. She wanted to see the real Velvet. Tears n all.

“It’s alright to cry.”

And that. That somehow did the trick because Velvet didn’t look away from her, even as tears and snot ran down her face she looked at Orchid and smiled.

And now they were staring at each other again. Just like at the gym. But this time felt so much more comfortable, much more intimate. Alone.

—

Velvet wasn’t expecting to see Orchid following her, she didn’t want anybody to see her like this. Not even her own brother. But it had happened and now she was here and there wasn’t anything she could do to turn it around now.

She accepted it, she accepted Orchids company for maybe the first time. She didn’t fight it. There was no point to it.

So they sat there in silence as she cried, as she curled up into herself and sobbed like a baby. She wasn’t sobbing out of sadness, she was angry not sad. She was angry at her brother, she was angry at Orchid, she was angry at her emotions, and her vulnerability in this moment. And so she cried and cried until she felt like she could finally breathe again.

And that’s when she finally spoke up.

“What’s wrong with me?”

It was more of a question to herself rather than Orchid, she wasn’t trying to talk to Orchid about any of this. But she saw the girl in the corner of her vision looking at her, it wasn’t that pitiful look her brother always gave her that made her mad but it was a new look. A look that showed she didn’t judge her for this. A look of hurt of confusion and concern but in a way that made her feel seen and not judged.

She never thought her brother judged her when she got upset or angry. But she always hated how he looked at her. She knew he didn’t mean to make it seem that way but it was in his nature. He was always the softest of the two, and so his emotions were always so much more visible.

After some time Orchid finally answered her.

“..what?” She said, sounding hesitant.

She must have been thinking what to say, Velvet couldn’t blame her, this must have been so embarrassing for her. To see Velvet like this. It was embarrassing for herself at least.

But she still didn’t judge. She listened to Velvet. Everything she had to say.

And she answered.

One thing in particular sticking out to Velvet.

“It’s alright to cry.”

She had never heard that before. When she was younger she was always told crying was bad, it wasn’t good to cry because she had to be strong for her brother, he was younger then her, he was weaker, more emotional. She had to be the one to stick up for him.

She never had time to cry. She only cried when she was mad and it stayed that way. She only cried when she couldn’t hold it in anymore and by then she didn’t just cry, she threw fits, big fits that scared her brother and hurt the people around her.

So the words “it’s alright to cry” did just that. They made her cry. They made her cry like nothing has ever made her cry before. And she looked at Orchid with tears in her eyes and snot down her nose and she smiled. She smiled because she was grateful that Orchid actually had come to help, grateful that she didn’t run away from her emotions like all the others.

She saw her how she was, and she helped her.

And then there was silence again, silence as they looked each other in the eyes, silence as she felt that warm feeling in her stomach and watched that twinkle in Orchids eyes, silence as she leaned forward holding Orchids hand on her face.

Silence as she began to close her eyes and Orchid did the same.

Silence as their lips touched, a gentle warm feeling, a feeling of comfort and relief that Velvet had never truly experienced until now.

A feeling that would not, could not, last long.

A feeling that should be wrong.

A feeling that normal girls like Velvet shouldn’t feel.

And suddenly that comfort became suffocating, that warmth began to burn like the hottest of fires, that relief had become distress and before she knew what was happening Orchid was against the lockers looking at her freighted and confused.

She had shoved her.

She had realized what she was doing, what they were doing, and she pushed her away, backing away from her in the process.

“Vellie, is something wrong? Are you alright-”

“Don’t call me that.”

Her name was velvet. Not vellie. Vellie was a name meant for a lover or best friend. Orchid was neither of those.

“What happened? Do you need a second or-”

“No. I just need you away. I need you to go.”

“But-”

“No buts! Just go!! You’re weird! I don’t like you and I never will so just go. We aren’t friends and we sure as hell aren’t lovers so get the hell away from me right now!”

Silence.

A far too familiar silence that a few minutes ago would have been comforting.

But now it was a cold, harsh, silence that split through the room.

And Orchid got up mumbling something of an apology as she ran out. And the bell rang, and Velvet sat there not moving, just staring. An empty feeling in her chest.

what was wrong with her.

Chapter Text

The ride back home was silent. She didn’t talk to Veneer at all and it was obvious he was worried for her. She just didn’t know what to say.

She didn’t tell him anything about what happened today, she didn’t apologize for her outburst towards him. She only got out of the car once they got home and went to her room instantly slamming the door.

After that it was quiet.

Veneer tried to speak to her a few times, ask her what was wrong, offer her coffee and a movie night if she’d come out. Nothing worked.

He sat by her door for an hour pleading with her to tell her what happened, she was never this quiet, was she still angry at him for that whole therapy thing?

If he couldn’t get her to talk to him he tried other things, making her food and leaving it by her door so she’d eat something, offering to go out and get her flowers or help clean her room.

Nothing was working.

After another hour he stopped trying and went to his room. Maybe she’d open up tomorrow.

—

And so the next day he got up and got dressed for school before heading to Velvet's room to see if she would answer.

And she did.

“Go away, I’m sick!” It was better than nothing he supposed, but she didn’t seem sick when they first came home.

“Do you want me to pick you up anything after school?”

“No, just go away!” And so he did, he left for school and she stayed in her room curled up on her bed thinking of Orchid, thinking about what happened yesterday, thinking about how she could apologize? If she should apologize.

Was it really her fault they kissed? She was clearly in a vulnerable state and Orchid took advantage of that. It wasn’t her fault she leaned in, it wasn’t her fault she couldn’t look away, it wasn’t her fault she liked it.

It wasn’t her fault.

And so why was she sitting here now moping about it? Why was she laying in bed and crying over a girl that she didn’t even like. Everything that happened was Orchids fault, Orchid got into her head and tricked her into a kiss. She tricked her into thinking that she liked her. But she doesn’t like her and she never will.

It’s unnatural, unright, it wouldn’t go well with her reputation.

What would the other students think? What would her mom and dad think??? They already know about Veneer but she wasn’t like Veneer. Veneer had always been that way; he had always been gay.

She wasn’t gay, she liked boys! She knew she liked boys so why now was she suddenly liking a girl? She wasn’t. It wasn’t possible. She liked boys and had always liked boys. Just like how Veneer had always liked boys.

She needed to focus on school, she needed to focus on getting into a good college and becoming a star for Veneer, for herself, for her family. There was no room for anyone after that, there was no room for love when you had success and that’s all she ever wanted.

But deep down she wanted more, she wanted to apologize to her brother for the outburst. He was only trying to help her. She needed to apologize to Orchid for pushing her, she looked so hurt, so scared.

She needed to apologize for being this way and then she could ignore it all and focus on her own dreams. First she’d need to apologize to Veneer.

He was at school for another 6 hours so that gave her plenty of time to figure out how to say sorry for yesterday. She knew she couldn’t just throw another movie night that would be repetitive and she hated being repetitive.

Maybe she could make something for him? He tried the same thing the other day when they got into a fight so why not try the same?

Maybe she could make him a pastry? But she was never really a good baker. That was all him, he could make the best baked goods, their mom had taught him when they were younger.

What if she made it wrong and it upset him more?

No she needed something else?? Maybe she could go out and get him something? He did take the car for school so she’d have to walk. She was fine with that, she could walk and she could get her brother something and give him a formal apology once he got back home.

All she had to do was get dressed, fix her hair, do her makeup, and then she would be out the door and on her way to go get what she needed.

—

The school day was going agonizingly slow for Veneer today. He was in the middle of science class working on a spreadsheet when a girl with purple hair came and tapped him on his shoulder.

He was confused at first but after looking at the girl he recognized it was the new girl, Orchid, at least that’s what he thought her name was? He was sure he heard his sister mention her name when they spoke about her.

“Heyyy? Did you need something??” He spoke cautiously, from what he got from his sister she was obsessed with her? He hoped the same wouldn’t happen to him though he didn’t know how well he should trust his sister on judging people so he kept a nice tone.

She seemed nervous, and tired, like she hadn’t slept at all. Her hair was somewhat messy and her eyes were puffy as if she was crying. Now he felt bad, what if she was hurt? And he had already been following what his sister had been saying and judging her.

She finally spoke, her voice quiet, shy almost. He wondered what happened to her.

“Hey uhm, did velli- velvet come in today? She’s your sister right?? I’ve seen yall together.”

So maybe his sister was right? Or maybe she was just being a worried friend. He didn’t wanna have to tell her that his sister freaked out yesterday and was having an episode of sorts so he went with what she had told him earlier.

“No I’m sorry, she’s sick right now. Poor thing hasn’t got out of bed all morning. I’ll tell her you asked about her though if you’d like!”

“No! No- that’s fine, I was just checking in because of something from yesterday. Just tell her to text me or something if you have the time.”

“Oh alright, no problem! I’ll tell her once I get home don’t worry about it!”

And that was it, she walked away, and veneer was left confused.

She didn’t seem like the crazy type as his sister had been saying, she seemed nice, and extremely nervous but nice nonetheless. What had happened yesterday that she would need to talk to her about? Did she know about her little outburst? He didn’t think his sister would run to her or open up to her about anything like that, she barely opened up to him and if he hadn’t known her this well he would have actually believed she was sick.

If she came up to him during class it must have been something important, he made a mental note to talk to her after class and maybe get some more information about what had happened.

—

Velvet made her way back into their house with two bags full of treats, her original thought was to get a single pastry for Veneer but once she got there she couldn’t help herself.

She had bought 2 pastries for Ven and another 4 for them to share later on, and after that she snuck in an extra 2 for herself. Who was gonna tell her no anyway?

She was exhausted once she got home, she walked a good 2 miles just to get there and back and she felt dirty so she jumped into the shower after placing the treats on the kitchen counter. It would be a few more hours till her brother returned home, and she hadn’t even asked if he was planning to go with Ritz after school or not. She hoped he didn’t.

She washed up and changed into something more presentable, she figured even if he was gonna be a few more hours she might as well get ready now.

Now all that was left was to wait.

—

Veneer's class ended and the first thing he did was go to find Orchid. He needed answers, maybe he could find out why his sister had been so uptight about the girl in the first place.

He found her packing her bag up at her desk, she looked a bit anxious when he approached her but she gave him a small smiled and stepped forward

“Is everything alright?” She asked, her voice soft, scared? She was a really shy girl. Good to know.

“What exactly happened yesterday?? Did she open up to you about something?” He didn’t mean to be nosy but he needed to know so he could figure out how to help his sister, maybe the stuff about the councilor is for the best.

“Uhm.. I don’t think she would want me to tell you. She was pretty upset about it even happening.”

“Did yall get into a fight or something?”

“Sort of..”

Okay so this girl was shitty at giving answers, at least she was thinking about what Velvet would want in the situation. She doesn’t seem half bad honestly.

“How about this, we go back to my place after school, you talk to my sister and we all work this out?”

“Really? Like she wouldn’t care or?”

Orchids face lit up, she looked excited to get to see Velvet again.. that was sweet. But he knew Velvet wouldn’t feel the same way to see the both of them. They needed to talk it out though.

“Oh no girl she’d definitely throw a bigger fit, but I’m soo tired of all this drama recently and it’s always better to just work things out!” She looked like she was considering it for a bit, maybe scared Velvet would hate her more, which wasn’t too far off.

“Isn’t she sick though? I wouldn’t want to catch the same thing as her and she needs rest.”

Oh right, Velvet's little lie.

He figured it would be obvious to know she wasn’t really sick, but he had known her his whole life and this girl met her a week ago.

“Oh, she’s fine, don't worry about it! She just gets this way after a stressful day. You won’t catch a thing, don't sweat it!” Except maybe Vels fist..

Orchid looked like she was thinking it over before she smiled and agreed to come along after school.

The lunch bell rang and they walked there together even introducing the new girl to Ritz on the way there.

He really hoped his sister wouldn’t mind the extra company back at home.

Chapter Text

Back at home was a different story, Velvet sat on the couch fidgeting with her hands, letting her long nails pick at her fingers pulling and scratching at the skin. She was nervous over a lot of things, would her brother accept her apology? Would she ever be able to talk to Orchid again? How would she ever be able to follow her dreams without her brother supporting her every step.

He is supposed to arrive in one hour.

One hour for her to pull herself together and face her own actions head on, one hour to change and maybe let a little light into her life, one hour to finally get this heavy weight off her chest and focus back on her grades and not so much on the new girl who she may or may not of kissed which totally didn’t mean anything more than a simple mix up in communication.

Until then she would sit on this couch and pick at her hands, maybe she could clean up a bit? But who was she impressing anyway? It was just her brother, no one to clean up for.

She got up from the couch, an obvious dent left behind to show how long she had been sitting there procrastinating what to say to him. Her fingers felt raw from all the picking, that was the first thing she needed; some bandages for her fingers.

—

Meanwhile back with Veneer and Orchid things were going decent, they had decided to stop by a coffee shop before heading to the house, school had just let out around 20 minutes ago and while he knew Vel would be suspicious of why he was so late he was sort of scared how she would react to him inviting the new girl over without talking to her about it.

Then again, he was just as grown as she was plus way more mature, he could make his own choices and he wasn’t gonna let what she thought get in the way of this. If they don’t talk this out today they probably never will, well at least until they are all old and wrinkly in their eighties or something.. gross.

“Don't be shy honey order whatever you want, trust me I’ve been saving up and I just know it’s one of those days” he turned to look at orchid as they pulled into the starbucks drive through, she seemed distracted by something but as soon as he spoke she snapped her head to look at him letting out a nervous chuckle before finally speaking

“Uhm, well, I don’t know what to get. I don't usually come here..?” He looked at her, mouth agape, she must have noticed because she almost instantly shrunk in on herself like a scared turtle or something.

He didn’t mean to make her even more uncomfortable than she was so he very quickly started back up to try and fix the poor girl's attitude.

“No no, that's like super totally fine! I’ll order something for you, I alwayyss get a certain drink here that just does wonders for me. I'm positive you’d love it!” She seemed to calm a bit at his words and gave a small smile, trusting him to order which is all he was waiting for because after that they were on the way to his house with 3 drinks and a lady Gaga playlist going on loop.

He would never forget getting his sister a drink, ever, he knew exactly what she liked and how she ordered it like it was written on the back of his palm.

Once they finally arrived at the house both him and Orchid seemed too worried to go in, even if he promised her Velvet wouldn’t really mind the company that much he knew she didn’t really believe that, which was fair because he didn’t believe it either. With his hand on the handle he looked back to Orchid one last time practically apologizing with his eyes, but as he opened the door to find a clean house and some music playing off the tv he was confused?

How did she possibly go from locking herself up to the point of near starvation to cleaning the whole house and enjoying some music, not just any music, his music.

She was playing his favorite song, though while he looked around she was nowhere to be seen. He came in with Orchid not far behind holding both their drinks in hand as Orchid sipped on hers right behind him.

“Hey Vels im home, how are you doing? Feeling better..??” He made sure to take the sweet approach, hopefully if she was really feeling better she definitely wouldn’t mind Orchid being there that much? Right..?

—

Everything was going perfect, she got the bandages and started cleaning the living room. He was expected to arrive in about 45 minutes now and she was sure she’d have it all done by the time he got there.

45 minutes turned to 10 minutes and the living room was spotless. She had been playing a playlist to get things going and it really helped calm her mind throughout everything. She was excited he was almost home but she had a deep feeling something was wrong, she didn’t listen to it, her mind was always doing this to her and she saw how it ended up last time so she kept cleaning. She’d be fully prepared once he arrived.

10 minutes turned to 0 and then he was late. It was 4:22 and school let out at 4:00. Their usually home around 4:10 on some busy traffic but this was pushing it, she couldn’t worry about it, she couldn’t let her mind win so she switched the playlist to Veneer's main list and decided to get to work on the kitchen.

Finally around 3 minutes later she heard a car, he was home. She rushed into the room and grabbed everything to get ready for him once he came inside, she needed a speech? Or maybe just a dumb sorry and quick sibling hug. Something to let him know she’s through with fucking up.

“Hey Vels, I'm home! How are you doing? Feeling better??” His voice rang through the house right alongside the sound of Vens favorite song overlapping in the background, she smiled and grabbed the stuff. He was gonna be so wowed that he’d have to forgive her on the spot and then she could throw all of this dumb bad attitude stuff right out the window and go back to being normal, amazing, beautiful, loving, Velvet; Queen of the school and the best “big sister” ever. Her plan was basically flawless.

She walked out with the small gift basket she had thrown together with what she got, she couldn’t wait to see the look on his face but as she walked out with the gift in hand and an apology on the tip of her tongue she wasn’t met with her brother's face at all. In Fact the first face she had seen was Orchid, the same Orchid who had been the cause of all this in the first place! In her house, holding her favorite drink, with HER brother!!

She had to keep calm, there had to be an explanation, she had just gone over this whole forgive and forget thing which is why she had decided to surprise her brother in the first place. She felt something rise within her but it wasn’t anger, was it anxiety? Guilt? Sadness.. She wasn’t sure but next thing she knew she was being held by her brother while Orchid tried apologizing and calming her down.

The gift she set up sat on the ground beside her, it seemed Ven took it out of her hands for her. Orchid was in the background with that stupid pitiful look on her face, the same one Veneer uses on her all the time, the same one she used on the day they kissed. She hated that look.

And then there was her, she stood there hands to her side as tears streamed down her cheeks, she wasn’t sure why she was crying, it was like a baby throwing a tantrum after seeing her favorite toy be taken by another kid. But she wasn’t sad, she was angry but she had no reason to be angry she had no reason for any of this.

She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, she’d deal with Orchid in a minute, first she needed to apologize.